British Quiz Championship
Encyclopedia
The British Quiz Championship, also termed the British Quizzing Championship, commonly abbreviated BQC is the United Kingdom
's most prestigious (non-TV based) quiz
competition. The current competition(s) are organised since 2004 by Chris Jones' and IQA-CEO Jane Allen's company Quizzing Ltd. Early in 2011 the re-launch of the quizzing.co.uk website saw it rebranded as the home of the British Quiz Association
.
Before 2004 there had already been some sort of "British Championship" since 1999 run first only by Trevor Montague
then by the British Quiz Association
(see that page for champions), but after internal strife and a fall in interest in 2003/2004 (see attendance in the BQA links) the old BQA-management gave up and the only British Quiz Championship now is this one run by Quizzing Ltd.
The 2004 event saw 67 entrants at Old Trafford who were joined, in the international event, by several hundred other Quizzers from countries such as Belgium
, Estonia
, the Netherlands
, India
and Malaysia quizzing in places such as Bangalore
and Kuala Lumpur
.
Both the 2004 British and World events were won by England's Kevin Ashman
.
A full report is available here
There was a first in the Pairs event, Kathryn Johnson partnering David Lea to a win. In so doing she becomes the first woman to hold a Championship title on the UK quiz circuit. Like the Individual event, the Pairs saw a tie, which had to be decided on 'countback'. The unlucky Pair who finished as runners-up were Chris Quinn and Mark Kerr.
In the Pairs event, 2008 winners David Edwards and Nic Paul became the first duo to regain the title. Second place went to Jesse Honey & Sean Carey and third to Kevin Ashman & Pat Gibson.
2011 - Venue Cathedral Lodge Hotel, Lichfield
John Wilson again wrote the questions for the individual championship, which for the first time was held in 2 venues, the main one in Lichfield but with some players taking part in a venue in Normandy.
Kevin Ashman
won with a score of 158 out of a maximum 210, a full 24 points ahead of defending champion Pat Gibson
.
In the Pairs event, Ian Bayley and Pat Gibson repeated their win of 2006.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's most prestigious (non-TV based) quiz
Quiz
A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which the players attempt to answer questions correctly. In some countries, a quiz is also a brief assessment used in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and/or skills.Quizzes are usually scored in points and many...
competition. The current competition(s) are organised since 2004 by Chris Jones' and IQA-CEO Jane Allen's company Quizzing Ltd. Early in 2011 the re-launch of the quizzing.co.uk website saw it rebranded as the home of the British Quiz Association
British Quiz Association
The British Quiz Association runs the British Quizzing Championships on the first Saturday in September every year.-Quiz Championships 1999/2000:...
.
Before 2004 there had already been some sort of "British Championship" since 1999 run first only by Trevor Montague
Trevor Montague
Trevor Howard Montague is a British author and sports and fitness enthusiast who compiles books of facts. Best known for A to Z of Almost Everything, he has since compiled A to Z of Sport and A to Z of Britain And Ireland....
then by the British Quiz Association
British Quiz Association
The British Quiz Association runs the British Quizzing Championships on the first Saturday in September every year.-Quiz Championships 1999/2000:...
(see that page for champions), but after internal strife and a fall in interest in 2003/2004 (see attendance in the BQA links) the old BQA-management gave up and the only British Quiz Championship now is this one run by Quizzing Ltd.
British Quizzing Championship Roll of Honour since 2004
| Year | Venue | Winner - Singles | Winner - Pairs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Old Trafford Manchester | Kevin Ashman Kevin Ashman Kevin Ashman from Winchester, Hampshire in England is one of the world's most successful quiz players and since 2002 a professional quizzer, an Egghead since 2003... |
Not held |
| 2005 | Altrincham | Kevin Ashman | Not held |
| 2006 | Shrewsbury | Kevin Ashman | Ian Bayley Ian Bayley Ian Bayley is a UK quiz player who, despite his youth when compared with other leading players , won several medals in quizzing, both in singles and as a member of a team. He is largely known as a strong team player winning the European Championships three times straight from 2007 to 2009 with... & Pat Gibson Pat Gibson Pat Gibson is an Irish multiple quiz show winner and a panellist on Eggheads.He was born and educated in Ireland but has lived in the United Kingdom for many years, and has represented England in the European Quizzing Championships since 2005.- Early life and education :Pat was born in Galway in... |
| 2007 | Derby | Pat Gibson | Gareth Aubrey & Olav Bjortomt Olav Bjortomt Stein Olav Bjortomt is an England international quiz player. He was the winner of the inaugural 2003 individual World Quizzing Championships, in the absence of Kevin Ashman when it was a fledgling event with then only 45 participants... |
| 2008 | Staveley | Sean Carey | David Edwards & Nic Paul |
| 2009 | Derby | Mark Bytheway Mark Bytheway Mark Bytheway was an England International Quiz player best known for becoming Quizzing World Champion in 2008 and winning the Top Brain competition of Brain of Britain.-Brain of Britain:... |
David Lea & Kathryn Johnson |
| 2010 | Derby | Pat Gibson Pat Gibson Pat Gibson is an Irish multiple quiz show winner and a panellist on Eggheads.He was born and educated in Ireland but has lived in the United Kingdom for many years, and has represented England in the European Quizzing Championships since 2005.- Early life and education :Pat was born in Galway in... |
David Edwards & Nic Paul |
| 2011 | Lichfield | Kevin Ashman Kevin Ashman Kevin Ashman from Winchester, Hampshire in England is one of the world's most successful quiz players and since 2002 a professional quizzer, an Egghead since 2003... |
Pat Gibson Pat Gibson Pat Gibson is an Irish multiple quiz show winner and a panellist on Eggheads.He was born and educated in Ireland but has lived in the United Kingdom for many years, and has represented England in the European Quizzing Championships since 2005.- Early life and education :Pat was born in Galway in... & Ian Bayley Ian Bayley Ian Bayley is a UK quiz player who, despite his youth when compared with other leading players , won several medals in quizzing, both in singles and as a member of a team. He is largely known as a strong team player winning the European Championships three times straight from 2007 to 2009 with... |
2004 - Venue Old Trafford Manchester - Winner Kevin Ashman
The 2004 British Quiz Championship was run in 2004 as part of the World Quizzing Championship - as staged at various worldwide locations, such as Old Trafford Stadium on 3 July 2004),The 2004 event saw 67 entrants at Old Trafford who were joined, in the international event, by several hundred other Quizzers from countries such as Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Malaysia quizzing in places such as Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
and Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
.
Both the 2004 British and World events were won by England's Kevin Ashman
Kevin Ashman
Kevin Ashman from Winchester, Hampshire in England is one of the world's most successful quiz players and since 2002 a professional quizzer, an Egghead since 2003...
.
2005 - Venue Altrincham - Winner Kevin Ashman
Having won the 2005 MSN Search sponsored World Quizzing Championships on 2 July Kevin Ashman went on to retain his British title later that year.| Position | Competitor |
|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Ashman |
| 2 | Mark Bytheway |
| 3 | John Wilson |
| 4 | Barry Simmons Barry Simmons Barry Simmons was the winner of the BBC Two show Are You an Egghead? and as a result became the sixth Egghead, joining Kevin Ashman, C. J... |
| 5 | Geoff Thomas |
| 6 | Pat Gibson |
| =7 | Dag Griffiths |
| =7 | Eric Kilby |
| =7 | Sean Carey |
| =7 | Darren Martin |
2006 - Venue Boreatton Park, Shrewsbury - Winner Kevin Ashman
Kevin Ashman made it a hat-trick of British Championships in 2005. In a field of 41 competitors Ashman won by 21 points from Mark Bytheway and Pat Gibson in joint second position. A full report on the event is available here| Position | Competitor |
|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Ashman |
| =2 | Mark Bytheway |
| =2 | Pat Gibson |
| =4 | John Wilson |
| =4 | Olav Bjortomt |
| 6 | Mark Labbett |
| 7 | Mark Kerr |
| 8 | Barbara Thompson |
| 9 | Eric Kilby |
| 10 | Ian Bayley |
2007 - Venue Derby Conference Centre - Winner Pat Gibson
The absence of the previous winners and runners up for the last two years (Kevin Ashman and Mark Bytheway) left the field wide open. Pat Gibson emerged victorious, adding the British title to the World title he had also taken from Ashman earlier in the year. Gibson's margin of victory over Bjortomt was 12 points.| Position | Competitor |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pat Gibson |
| 2 | Olav Bjortomt |
| =3 | Mark Labbett Mark Labbett Mark Labbett is a personality in the UK quiz scene. He attended Exeter College, Oxford University, graduating with a degree in Mathematics... |
| =3 | William De'Ath |
| 5 | Eric Kilby |
| 6 | Nic Paul |
| =7 | Chris Quinn |
| =7 | Ian Bayley |
| =7 | Mark Kerr |
| =7 | John Wilson |
A full report is available here
2008 - Venue Staveley - Winner Sean Carey
A field of 61 competitors including Kevin Ashman (3 time British Champion, past World and European Champion), Mark Bytheway (2008 World Quiz Champion), Pat Gibson (2007 World and British Champion) met at Staveley in Derbyshire. With such a strong field of competitors it was perhaps a surprise that it was Sean Carey who took the title, beating second placed Kevin Ashman by 8 points. Ranked 19th before the start of the event, Carey is the lowest ranked competitor to win the British title, and the first person from outside the top 3. That said, he was likely ranked lower than he ought to have been on account of his not being able to attend as many ranking events as his peers. When he has competed in Grands Prix he has typically been placed in the top 10 of finishers.| Position | Competitor |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Carey |
| 2 | Kevin Ashman |
| 3 | Mark Bytheway |
| 4 | Pat Gibson |
| 5 | Nic Paul |
| =6 | Alan Gibbs |
| =6 | John Wilson |
| =6 | Olav Bjortomt |
| =9 | Chris Quinn |
| =9 | Dave Edwards |
| =9 | Mark Labbett |
2009 - Venue Derby Conference Centre - Winner Mark Bytheway
All the big players were in attendance for this one, including every former winner of the title. For the first time ever the event had to be settled on a tie-break, Kevin Ashman and Mark Bytheway being neck-and-neck, 8 points ahead of Pat Gibson in third place. Reference was had to the players' discarded scores (both in Sport & Games) with Bytheway emerging victorious by a margin of one point (170 to 169 out of 240). Byethway's achievement was well received by the field of 62, not least because he is still recovering from surgery undertaken after he was struck with a life-threatening illness. Kevin Ashman was typically magnanimous in defeat. He now holds 'just' the World and European individual titles!| Position | Competitor |
|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Bytheway |
| 2 | Kevin Ashman |
| 3 | Pat Gibson |
| 4 | Chris Quinn |
| 5 | Jesse Honey |
| 6 | Sean Carey |
| 7 | Mark Kerr |
| 8 | John Wilson |
| 9 | Nic Paul |
| 10 | Ian Bayley |
There was a first in the Pairs event, Kathryn Johnson partnering David Lea to a win. In so doing she becomes the first woman to hold a Championship title on the UK quiz circuit. Like the Individual event, the Pairs saw a tie, which had to be decided on 'countback'. The unlucky Pair who finished as runners-up were Chris Quinn and Mark Kerr.
2010 - Venue Derby Conference Centre - Winner Pat Gibson
Pat Gibson regained the title he first won in 2007 and was the first to get his hands on the new Mark Bytheway Trophy, named in memory of last year's winner who died in July 2010. The trophy is to be inscribed with the names of former winners. This year's questions were written by former (BQA/Montague era) champion, John Wilson (since 2006 they have been composed by Quizzing.co.uk's principal setter Chris Jones).| Position | Competitor |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pat Gibson |
| 2 | Kevin Ashman |
| 3 | Jesse Honey Jesse Honey Jesse Honey is an English quiz player best known for winning the Mastermind series 2010 and becoming a member of the English National team later in the year.-Life:... |
| 4 | Olav Bjortomt |
| 5 | Barry Simmons |
| 6 | Nic Paul |
| 7 | Dag Griffiths |
| 8 | Ian Bayley |
| 9 | David Stainer |
| 10 | Sean Carey |
In the Pairs event, 2008 winners David Edwards and Nic Paul became the first duo to regain the title. Second place went to Jesse Honey & Sean Carey and third to Kevin Ashman & Pat Gibson.
2011 - Venue Cathedral Lodge Hotel, LichfieldLichfieldLichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
- Winner Kevin Ashman
John Wilson again wrote the questions for the individual championship, which for the first time was held in 2 venues, the main one in Lichfield but with some players taking part in a venue in Normandy.Kevin Ashman
Kevin Ashman
Kevin Ashman from Winchester, Hampshire in England is one of the world's most successful quiz players and since 2002 a professional quizzer, an Egghead since 2003...
won with a score of 158 out of a maximum 210, a full 24 points ahead of defending champion Pat Gibson
Pat Gibson
Pat Gibson is an Irish multiple quiz show winner and a panellist on Eggheads.He was born and educated in Ireland but has lived in the United Kingdom for many years, and has represented England in the European Quizzing Championships since 2005.- Early life and education :Pat was born in Galway in...
.
| Position | Competitor |
|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Ashman Kevin Ashman Kevin Ashman from Winchester, Hampshire in England is one of the world's most successful quiz players and since 2002 a professional quizzer, an Egghead since 2003... |
| 2 | Pat Gibson Pat Gibson Pat Gibson is an Irish multiple quiz show winner and a panellist on Eggheads.He was born and educated in Ireland but has lived in the United Kingdom for many years, and has represented England in the European Quizzing Championships since 2005.- Early life and education :Pat was born in Galway in... |
| 3 | Ian Bayley Ian Bayley Ian Bayley is a UK quiz player who, despite his youth when compared with other leading players , won several medals in quizzing, both in singles and as a member of a team. He is largely known as a strong team player winning the European Championships three times straight from 2007 to 2009 with... |
| 4 | Olav Bjortomt |
| 5 | Eric Wildsmith |
| 6 | Sean Carey |
| 7 | Phil Smith |
| 8 | David Hesp |
| 9 | Alan Gibbs |
| 10 | Peter Watson |
In the Pairs event, Ian Bayley and Pat Gibson repeated their win of 2006.